Mazenodian Family Vocation Congress 2019

Mazenodian Family Vocation Congress 2019

Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 7:00pm – 9:00pm (USA central time)

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother: Toward a Theology of the Oblate Charism, Vocation, and Ministry”

Oblates live at the intersection between two movements of the Spirit that are bearing fruit in the life of the Church since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The council called upon religious orders to renew their spiritual foundations by returning to their founding roots and charisms, while it also called upon all the baptized, lay faithful to claim their true leadership roles and status in the Church and to infuse the secular world with the values of the Gospel. Oblates live at a paradoxical intersection of these two trends, and yet there is not an adequately developed theology of lay ministry that can be applied directly to the oblate charism in the twenty-first century. This keynote address will explore the developments of a lay theology of ministry since the Second Vatican Council, and then place those trends into dialogue with the lived experiences of oblates today. Our goal is to begin to articulate a theology of the oblate charism, vocation, and ministry that can provide some guidance for oblates in our dual commitments to the renewal of religious life and to infusing the seeds of the Gospel in the secular world today.

Presenter

Tom Bushlack, Ph.D., is associate professor of Theology and Ethics and Director of the Ashley-O’Rourke Center for Health Ministry Leadership at Aquinas Institute of Theology (St. Louis, MO). After briefly considering a monastic vocation with the Benedictine monks at St. John’s Abbey (Collegeville, MN), he became an Oblate of St. Benedict, and is also a Trustee of the Trust for the Meditation Process, and the host of the “Contemplate This!” podcast. His scholarship explores the intersection between the pursuit of justice in Catholic social thought, contemplative spirituality, and moral formation in the virtues. He currently lives in St. Louis, MO, with his wife Anna, and their three children. For more information, please visit thomasjbushlack.com.

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